Page 9 of Falling for the Felid
The tips of his pointed ears pinken. “Thank you.” Then he heaves a sigh and squares his shoulders. “We should touch base with the voluntolds.”
An involuntary laugh bursts from me. “The what?”
Erik smirks. “Come on, we’re not pretending that these guys,” he taps his pen against the first four names on the list, “actually volunteered, are we? For whatever reason, Coach decided they have to do this, so they’ll do it.”
That’s what I was thinking, but now that he’s said it out loud…
“Is that going to be a problem for us?” This project isn’t my baby like it is his, but that doesn’t mean I want it to fail. That wouldn’t be good for the communityormy career.
“Probably not, but maybe.” Erik pulls a face. “Reluctant helpers don’t ever make for an ideal event, but they won’t do anything to deliberately fuck it up. Some of them aren’t smart, but they’re not stupid.”
We exchange glances, and he sighs. “Well, okay. They’re notthatstupid. Or self-destructive. They know it’s not a good idea to fuck up something Coach assigned them to.”
That’s somewhat reassuring. “Okay, great. Are we done here, then?” It’s only a little past lunchtime—I can still get a lot of paperwork done and hopefully be out of here early, maybe check in at the office before I head home.
Erik chuckles. “I am, but you have hockey lessons.”
Ugh. “What, now? Did Lurlene find someone?” I look around. Coach would be too busy, but maybe the equipment manager? Or one of the trainers? With the season not having begun yet and none of the players being injured, they might have a little extra time.
Though honestly, I really wouldn’t know. Maybe this is their busiest month of the year. Lurlene might be right about me needing to learn a little more about how things work here.
“She did,” Erik confirms, then clears his throat.
“Who? Do I know them, or can you introduce me?”
The nervous littlehehehethat erupts from his throat brings my head snapping around. He’s grimacing. This can’t be good. Why would he?—
No.
“It’s Felix Ansas,” Erik says, punctuating the cold suspicion that just flooded me.
Of course it fucking is.
CHAPTER FIVE
Felix
I’m tyingup my shoelaces when I sense someone coming toward me. It’s a special skill of mine that nobody understands, not even me. The room is full of people moving around, and yet, without lifting my head, I can tell one of them is on their way to talk to me.
Ugh. Hasn’t my day been bad enough already, without me needing to play nice some more? I can actually feel myself balancing on the knife edge of my hormones right now—I’mthisclose to blowing up in someone’s face. First the meeting with Coach and his little test, then a practice full of my teammates’ ineptitude, then having to sit here while Ari did his presentation-slash-bribe, looking all cool and controlled and fucking sexy as hell. It’s not fair. How can I want to be himanddo him? There’s gotta be a rule about that shit.
I suck in a breath and prepare to hold on a little longer. That’s been my mantra through this whole puberty thing. I just need to hold on a little longer, and it will end.
Feeling somewhat stable, I look up as the person stops in front of me—and immediately wish I hadn’t.
“Hello, Mr. Ansas,” he says in his sexy I-come-from-another-dimension accent that makes me want to strip naked and offermyself as a sacrifice to his carnal needs. Not that I think he has any. The man’s always so collected and smooth, even when he was being an ass to me. What would it take to make him crack?
His brows rise, and I flush, realizing I’m sitting here staring at him like a lump. “Just Ansas is fine,” I mumble. “Or Felix.” I’m not sure what makes me add that. My friends and family call me Felix, but he’s neither, and that’s unlikely to change.
He doesn’t say anything else, and the antsy, amped-up tingle of energy under my skin intensifies. “Can I help you with something?” I prompt, hoping he’ll go away. I don’t need him in my space, making me feel everything at a higher octane than usual. What I need right now is to get home to my quiet space and once again try to meditate like Jared taught me. So far, I’m on a losing streak—or whatever they call it when you fail miserably at even being able to clear your mind.
“Lurlene said she was going to speak with you,” Ari says. “About?—”
“Teaching you hockey.” The words come on an agonized breath. No. Nooooo. Why? This isn’tfair. Isn’t it bad enough that he’s going to be hanging around here and that I have to work with him when I’m volunteering? Now I have to spend more time with him too?
Judging by his expression, he knows exactly how I feel and is going through a similar experience. “I can tell her we couldn’t find a mutually agreeable time,” he suggests.
I’m tempted. So, so tempted. If this was still last season, maybe I’d say yes. But now, more than ever, I need to prove that I’m a team player. That I can step up and do whatever it takes to help the Warhammers succeed, both on and off the ice. Coach is watching me, and Lurlene has always been good to me. I wouldn’t be repaying her kindness if I gave her more work to do.
